ThinkMarkets has been increasingly embracing cryptocurrencies in recent months, coinciding with the support and launch of new products. However, the brokerage’s affinity for cryptos has become even stronger today with the acceptance of Bitcoin as a payment method.

The payment extension is a nod to growing demand amongst ThinkMarkets’ client base. 2017 has indeed been the year of crypto, as brokers from around the retail industry have been looking to adopt and facilitate the trading of these currencies. Consequently, ThinkMarkets is introducing BitPay on its platform, which will enable clients to make deposits and withdrawals using Bitcoin.

The new initiative falls in line with ThinkMarkets overall strategy in recent months. Indeed, the group has been rapidly expanded its product offering in H2, which has seen the support of new crypto-denominated contracts-for-difference (CFDs). Back in October, the group added Bitcoin cash (BCH), Dash, Monero (XMR), and Neo to its CFD suite, bringing its total exposure to eight different digital currencies.

New payment method available to select clients

In particular, clients that fall under the mantle of Australian and Bermudan license at ThinkMarkets will be able to use Bitcoin as a means of funding their accounts. These clients will be able to do so globally in a matter of minutes, though due to regulatory constraints only these individuals will be able to use Bitcoin in this way as of now.

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Regulations in the UK for example prohibit clients from using Bitcoin for payments to ThinkMarkets, though this has not stopped the group from looking to expand this payment functionality globally.

The adoption of Bitcoin on ThinkMarkets’ platform for payments is an important move for the group as it allows for more secure client transactions. Such a move is not yet commonplace at retail brokerages, even at a time when others have quickly moved to offer crypto exposure via CFDs and other trading instruments.

Bitcoin transactions garner appeal for clients who are looking to avoid providing personal information. Today’s financial climate is riddled with examples of hacks, fraud, and other forms of identity theft, all of which collectively discourage clients from engaging in traditional forms of online payments.

The adoption of Bitcoin in this sense helps allay concerns shared by many, though it has yet to displace existing methods as the de-facto means of payment. Furthermore, such transactions made in Bitcoin are not encumbered by billing forms, making it much quicker on average.